Volterra
by thenag
Summary: We know what happens to Edward, Bella, and Alice in Italy...But what happens 'back at the ranch? Told from Jasper's perspective and includes the fateful phone call Alice makes from the airplane to Jasper. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Tension was high in the large mansion tucked away in the mountains. I could sense it from a quarter of a mile away. It made me wary, and I approached the house cautiously. Usually, Tanya's house in the Denali Mountains was a place of solace and peace for all of us.

As I neared, I could hear Rosalie bellowing at Emmett, though I had no idea what she was saying. I grinned to myself. _If that's all it is, then there is no need to worry_, I mused,_ I wonder what Emmett has done this time_. Knowing that Rosalie was yelling at Emmett eased my concern—that happened fairly often.

I threw open the doors and the emotion rushed out at me like strong wind. It was overwhelming. It was more than tension, as I had first tasted. It was hysteria. Hysteria of a sort that I hadn't experienced in decades.

Now that I focused, I could tell that the hysteria was coming from Rosalie—and the tension from Emmett. Rosalie's emotions alarmed me: her hysteria was tainted with desperation, a dangerous combination. I started listening to what Rosalie was bellowing, "I don't know why you're just standing there!" She screamed at Emmett, "We have to do something…" Her voice cracked, and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought she was crying. Her words gave me no indication of why she was upset.

I rounded the corner into the red cedar living room, where Emmett and Rosalie were. Emmett was standing against a wall, away from Rosalie. He seemed to be taking the brunt of Rosalie's fury. She was standing several feet away from him, her frame shaking and her hair out of control as she yelled at him.

She heard me and turned, "And you!" She screamed at me, "How could you let her go?"

I was startled. _Her, who?_ _What have I done?_ I looked at Emmett questioningly as Rosalie continued to screech at me.

Emmett caught my eye. "A little help please," he murmured under Rosalie's tirade.

Rosalie was advancing towards me, screaming still. I nodded and sent a wave of calm over to her. It would be more effective had I been touching her, but honestly, I didn't want to get that close. Rosalie was scary when angry. I didn't know how Emmett dealt with it.

The calmness stopped her from getting closer to me and Emmett walked to her, and wrapped his arms around her. "Rose?" he questioned.

Rosalie turned into his embrace and dry sobbed into his shoulder. She sounded like she would soon hyperventilate. Emmett looked at me again, and I nodded, sensing his question. I walked over, touched Rosalie on her shoulder—I didn't mind touching her, now that Emmett had a grip on her, concentrated, and Rosalie relaxed completely in Emmett's arms.

I threw myself into a comfortable reclining chair. "Care to catch me up on the fuss?" I asked as Emmett walked Rosalie over to the couch, "Did you forget your anniversary again?"

Emmett allowed himself a small smile as he sat Rosalie down. The smile didn't reach his eyes. His emotional tension got stronger. He sat down next to her, and drew her into him. "It's not good," Emmett finally said.

He stroked Rosalie's hair, and I was happy to notice that Rosalie's eyes looked glassy. She was still calm. "You know Alice left because she saw Bella throw herself off a cliff."

I nodded. Alice and I didn't disagree often, but this was one of those times. I didn't mind her strange attachment to Edward's once girlfriend, but this was interfering. I knew she wanted to help Charlie, Bella's father, in the aftermath of Bella's suicide—but I really had no idea how she was going to explain her presence. 'Hi, Charlie, I just happened to be in town. Sorry about Bella… What can I do to help?' It just didn't make sense.

Not to mention the promise she made to Edward about not looking for Bella's future or doing any further damage.

Like the damage I had done.

Emmett's eyes found mine and pulled me from the depressing thoughts that I'd lived with for months. "Rose called Edward to tell him Bella was dead and that he could come home now."

I groaned. Edward's absence had put a strain on all of us. Rosalie's phone call, while probably well intentioned—hoping that he would now return and we could be a family again—showed her lack of understanding for the depth of Edward's love for Bella. "And Edward answered?"

Emmett nodded.

I shook my head in disbelief. Edward never answered his phone anymore. _This is going to kill Edward_, I thought. The word _kill_ lingered in my mind and suddenly, the consequences of Rosalie's phone call hit me. "Oh crap." I whispered.

Emmett nodded again. "He's on his way to Volterra."

I groaned again. But before I could open my mouth, Emmett continued, "Alice called a little while ago." He looked down at Rosalie as she started to shake again, "Bella's alive."

"Bella's alive?" I sputtered, "Edward…" I trailed off, looking at the ground and thinking. _If Bella is alive…Alice was wrong, Rosalie was wrong…and now Edward thinks Bella is dead…We've got to stop him…_ It only took me a moment to put my thoughts in order.

I snapped my head up, to find Emmett's gaze meeting mine unwaveringly. No doubt, he had had more time to come to the same conclusions I had just reached. He and I would fly to Florence, get a car, beat Edward to the Volturi, and bring him home. "My car is faster." I stated, getting up.

It wouldn't be easy, but it was simple enough. I knew Emmett well enough to know that he had all ready researched when the next flight out of Juneau was. We could make plane reservations in the car, if he hadn't done that as well. It ought to take us a little under two hours to get from here to there. I was calculating time zones and travel times in my head. It would be close. "We need to leave _now_." I said emphatically, mentally lamenting the end of the supersonic trans-Atlantic Concord flights.

"No." Rosalie spoke suddenly. She was still shaking, but her voice was firm. "I'll go."

Emmett and I looked at each other for a long moment. Emmett and I were a nearly indestructible force when teamed together, and we had confidence in each other. We would need that against the Volturi, if Edward got that far. And I knew that Emmett wouldn't want Rosalie along, on the off chance that something went wrong. He loved her too much to put her into that type of position. The Volturi and their guard were not to be taken lightly. "Rose," Emmett said softly.

"No." Rosalie repeated, "It's my wrong. I need to put it right. And," Rosalie, turned to look at me, "Jasper will need to be here to calm Esme and Carlisle when they find out."

There was a protracted silence as we all contemplated Esme and Carlisle's reaction to the news. It would not be pleasant and I did not relish the idea of being the one to tell them. Emmett and I looked at each other again. Neither of us liked the new plan, but it made sense. Someone had to tell Esme and Carlisle—someone who could help them through the trauma. I nodded once at Emmett. "Take the Ferrari," I mumbled.

They were gone instantly.


	2. Phone Call

**A/N**: I DON'T OWN NEW MOON OR TWILIGHT. STEPHENIE MEYER DOES. That being said, I directly lifted Alice's words out of New Moon, to show what Jasper was thinking and feeling.

My cell phone vibrated. In a flash, it was to my ear. "Alice." I breathed.

"Jasper," Alice's voice seemed to steady me. "It's okay. We're okay." She knew I needed reassurance, needed to know she was okay. There was little reason to worry—Alice could take care of herself, but she was still _my_ Alice. It was my job to protect her, to take care of her.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"We're on a plane to JFK."

"What do you see, Alice?" I asked urgently. Any news I could pass on to Emmett and Rosalie would help—where to be, what to look for, _anything_.

"I can't be sure, I keep seeing him do different things, he keeps changing his mind."

"What is he thinking of doing?"

"A killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square…mostly things that would expose them—he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction…"Alice's voice trailed off into a whisper.

There was a pause as I contemplated Edward's intentions. "This is ridiculous," I said, the anger slowly building in my body. I walked out the door towards the garage. Emmett and Rosalie had taken my car, but I was sure Tanya wouldn't mind if I borrowed hers, "I'm leaving. We've got to stop him." _I can't let this happen to Edward._

"No, you can't." The sharpness of Alice's voice stopped me short.

"What do you mean, I can't?" I asked mystified, walking again, "This is Edward we're talking about, Alice. We've got to do something. Emmett and I can…"

Alice cut in, "Tell Emmett no."

"He and Rosalie have all ready left. They're on the 10:45 out of Juneau."

"Well, go after Emmett and Rosalie and bring them back."

"What?" I asked, incredulously. I had reached the garage, and was opening the garage doors. Tanya's white Range Rover gleamed dully in the light.

"Think about it, Jasper. If he sees any of us, what do you think he will do?"

I had known, all along, that our plans had a flaw—a terrible flaw. Now Alice was asking me to confront the problem, and admit that we might not succeed. The flaw? Edward wasn't someone you could sneak up on. He would hear our thoughts before he could see us, and… I sighed, "He'll act immediately so we can't stop him." I leaned up against the Range Rover. _Why does this have to be so complicated?_ I lamented to myself. I was a man of action; the waiting was killing me.

"Exactly. I think Bella is the only chance—if there is a chance." Alice spoke quickly now, "I'll do everything that can be done, but prepare Carlisle; the odds aren't good." 

I laughed hollowly. "The odds aren't good for you, either, Alice." It seemed like my whole world was crashing down on me. _What will I do without you, Alice?_

"I've thought of that." It was as if she had heard my unasked question and there was finality in her voice that frightened me.

"Alice," I whispered, desperately, "I can't live without…You've got to take care of yourself. Promise me."

"Yes, I promise."

"Alice, are you sure you don't need me?" I was desperate to be with her. Even if I was too late, I would smell her scent, I could die where she had died…

"Don't follow me." She pleaded.

"Please, Alice." I whispered, defeated.

"I promise, Jasper. One way or another, I'll get out."

There was a pause as we both considered her promise. It was an empty promise and we both knew it—it was said in order to console me. Alice had no way of guaranteeing her escape if things went wrong. And things were very likely to go wrong—there were too many variables out of our control.

"I love you, Alice." I whispered, my voice full of emotion.

"And I love you."

The connection died.


	3. Bringing Them Back

The next thing I did was call Emmett's cell phone. He and Rosalie were nearing Juneau, and I needed to call them back before they got on the plane. Then, at least, we could all be together while we waited to find out what happened.

Call them back like Alice told me to.

Even thought I wanted them to go.

"Yes?" Rosalie answered the phone. Once again, her emotions were hysterical, and desperate. I mentally cursed, wondering how in the world Emmett was going to get her to calm down without me. She was coming unglued at the seams because of what she'd done. And what was happening because of it.

I'd worried something like this was going to happen; that's why I had called Emmett's phone.

"Rosalie, you need to come back now." I tried to make my voice soothing, calming.

"What?" She screeched, "We almost there! We can make it…"

I cut her off before she got too hysterical, "Rose, put Emmett on the phone."

"Jasper, we can't stop, we've got to do something…" She was babbling now.

"Put Emmett on the phone." I repeated calmly. When nothing happened, I said it again, with more force.

Rosalie continued to talk and then suddenly, Emmett's booming voice cut in. "Jasper?" He asked. He'd obviously just wrested the phone away from her. I could hear her in the background, still talking.

"Where are you?" 

"Almost to the airport. We're cutting it close." He sounded tense, but in control.

"Well, turn around and come back."

"Come back?" His voice was surprised, "Why?"

"I just talked to Alice and she pointed out a very good fact. We're not going to be able to sneak up on Edward."

"So we just let him go get himself killed? Is that what Alice recommended?" His emotions were starting to get riled up.

I was angry at his jab at Alice. "_Alice,_" I emphasized, "And Bella are on their way to Volterra right now. They're in the air. The only thing that will convince Edward that Bella is alive is Bella."

"So you're just going to wait?" His words were tense. Emmett was like me, a man of action. Waiting didn't bode well with us.

I had to rein my emotions in. This experience was stressful for us all. All I wanted to do right now was tear into Emmett. "Yes, I'm just going to wait."

"Because Alice told you to." Accused Emmett.

"Because Alice told me to." I agreed.

Emmett sighed. "She's got you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" It was a slight taunt at my masculinity, allowing a female to boss me around.

"No," I disagreed, "I listen to her because I want to." I didn't bother to point out that Emmett's relationship with Rosalie was of that sort—him wrapped around her finger, doing her bidding at will. I didn't need to point it out; Emmett knew.

Emmett heaved another sigh. "I'm turning around," he said softly, "Jasper, do you think they have a chance?"

Instead of answering, I snapped the phone shut, ending the call. I stared at the phone. I didn't know how to answer Emmett's question. I didn't know if they _had_ a chance. I didn't want to talk about it or discuss the odds.

Emmett knew my answer the instant I hung up on him.

No, I didn't think they had a chance. Edward was too skilled, too fast. Bella was too clumsy, too _human_. And Alice…Alice was perfect, in my opinion. But I didn't know if that would tip the scales in their favor.


	4. Preparing Carlisle

I sat, lounging back in Eleazar's chair, my feet up on his desk. He would be upset that my feet—with shoes—were on his valuable 18th century mahogany desk. A desk that had been a gift from Carlisle to Eleazar, in fact.

Right now, I couldn't care less about the desk. I hoped I _did_ get scuffmarks on it. Lounging in the posh leather chair was the only thing keeping me relaxed.

I heard Carlisle and Esme enter the empty house, and then go their separate ways. I hoped they enjoyed their hunting trip—it might be the last of their happiness for quiet a while. I knew, as always—even on Spring Break—Carlisle would head for the library. He was a creature of habit.

He did not disappoint me today.

The door opened soundlessly and Carlisle stopped mid-step in the doorframe as he saw me. There was a long pause as we gazed at each other. Carlisle put his foot down slowly. "This is unusual," he commented as he came in. His voice and his face were masked and unreadable. He hung his coat on a coat rack in the corner and turned back to me. His face was now touched with resignation—almost as if he had always expected this to happen. "What is this about, Jasper?" He paused and added, "And kindly take your feet off the desk."

I made no movement to move my feet. "I have a matter to discuss with you and Esme."

Carlisle nodded, "Of course." He turned towards the door and called softly, "Esme!"

Esme came thru the door in moments, "Where is everyone? The house is…" She stopped when she saw me. Her eyes widened slightly as they saw my feet on the desk.

"Jasper has a matter to discuss with us." Carlisle stated.

Esme looked at me, her eyes boring into me, try to get a feel on what would cause this sort of concern and lack of respect for others' possessions.

I gestured to the chairs in front of the desk, "Please sit down."

I studied the top of the desk while they sat. Then I slowly took my feet off the desk and sat forward in the chair. I'd thought over and over how best to tell them, but no matter what I had thought of, it never seemed right. "While you were gone," I began, raising my eyes to look at them, "Alice had a vision of Bella, jumping off a cliff. She never came up."

Esme gasped loudly. "Oh Bella." She murmured. She slumped back in her seat, her eyes closed. I suspected that she was reliving her own attempted suicide. Except, this time, there was no happy ending. I sent a wave of calm to her, and she straightened up in her chair. Her eyes were grateful.

"When did…" Carlisle began, his face heavy with concern, but I held up my hand. He stopped.

"Alice informed Rosalie, Emmett, and me of her vision and left to help Charlie," I took a deep breath. This was where things got dicey. "Rosalie called Edward and told him that Bella had committed suicide."

Carlisle inhaled sharply. His eyes locked with mine, and I suspected he knew Edwards intentions upon Bella's death.

"Alice arrived in Forks and discovered that Bella was alive, and was, in fact, not attempting suicide." I continued.

"She's okay?" Carlisle interjected.

I nodded. "Alice then had a vision of Edward," I paused again. I didn't want to tell them. Edward was a son to them. They were unhappy because he was unhappy, and desperate to help him find his way out of his depression. They would not take the blow lightly—none of us had. I started over again, steeling myself for their reactions, "Alice had a vision of Edward…going to the Volturi and asking to die."

Carlisle's head fell forward and he covered his face with his hands. "Oh, Edward." He moaned. His sudden despair hit me hard.

Esme's reaction surprised me. She simply stood up and walked out, without looking at either Carlisle or me. A few seconds later, I heard the door to the outside open and close. Then an unearthly howl sounded, a lament that only a mother can make when she loses a child.

The sound became fainter and fainter, and I knew Esme was running away from the house. I'd not even had time to try to calm or comfort her.

When the sound had completely faded, I surveyed Carlisle again. He had not moved. "Alice and Bella are on their way to Volterra to try and stop Edward."

Carlisle lifted his head slowly, his eyes hopeful. "So there is still a chance."

"A fool's errand." I replied bluntly. Harshly. "You know Edward has no desire to live without Bella. And since he thinks her dead, he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Carlisle nodded somberly. "Aro would never agree to kill Edward. He wouldn't want to destroy him, with Edward's gift so like his own." He thought for a second, "It's more likely that they will offer him a place in the guard." Carlisle's eyes darkened uncharacteristically, "Which Edward would never accept."

"Which brings us to the last option," I continued, "Of Edward forcing them to destroy him."

"Oh, no." Carlisle whispered. In the sixty-odd years I had lived with Carlisle, I had never seen him so grief stricken. "But Bella could…"

"Exactly." Carlisle was beginning to understand the enormity of what was at stake. And how small the chances were. "The odds are not in their favor," I emphasized, "In fact, it is most likely that all of them will be killed."

Years of Carlisle's experience in the Emergency Room kicked in and I could see him pull his composure together. "Emmett and Rosalie?" he questioned.

"On their way back."

"From?"

"Going to Volterra." Carlisle looked at me, the confusion evident in his face. Why were they coming back? They should go—those were his thoughts. "Their presence would make Edward act quicker," I explained, "Bella is our only chance."

"Ahh."

There was a pause as Carlisle stood up, his face heavy with grief. I could almost see the names flitting across in his mind: Edward, Bella, Alice…

He turned to go, and abruptly, stopped, looking at me. "What will you do, Jasper? If Alice is dead, will you stay with us?"

"No." I shrugged my shoulders, "You know this lifestyle has never suited me. I've done it for Alice. Without her…" My voiced trailed off.

Carlisle nodded slowly, the grief deepening. He was now counting me among the dead. Edward, Bella, Alice, and Jasper. His family was disintegrating before his eyes.

"What will you do?" He questioned softly.

"I'll go to Italy."

He looked at me sharply, "What do you mean?"

"I will go to the Volturi and offer my services. I think they would enjoy my gift as part of their guard." Carlisle stared at me, disbelieving. I continued without acknowledging his shock, "And when the time is right, I will murder them and avenge Alice."

Carlisle let out a long sigh. "Let's pray it never gets to that point."

"Still Daddy's little boy," I scoffed.

Carlisle stiffened. "What do you mean, Jasper?" he asked in a flat voice.

I recognized that tone. He was very close to losing control of his emotions and lashing out at me—I had hit a nerve. I wasn't helping the situation any—like I was supposed to be doing. I felt slightly remorseful for my comment, but I was too upset by the prospect of losing Alice. "You pray all you want to, Carlisle. I'll spend my time doing something productive."


	5. Guilt

I was several hours away from the house when Emmett found me. With nothing to occupy my thoughts with Alice gone and in danger, I had decided to go hunting. Hunting from a different lifetime.

Oh, I was still hunting animals. That much hadn't changed. I wouldn't give up on this plan until I knew for certain that Alice was dead. But hunting in mass quantities.

Deer. Mountain lion. Elk. Otter. Bear. I had gone on and on. I had no idea how many I'd killed. And I didn't care. I was pretty sure any sort of 'judicious hunting' had been thrown out the window.

I wondered idly how long it would take the ecosystem to recover.

I was sitting on a thin ridge of a mountain, near its peak. All I could see for miles and miles was dense forest and mountains. As boredom encroached, I would take handfuls of pebbles, and throw them down the mountain, seeing if I could trigger a landslide.

I was trying not to think.

"Hey." Emmett greeted me as he sat down.

"Hey." I responded gruffly.

He nodded towards my small, silver cell phone, placed on the ridge beside me. "Good reception up here?"

I looked at him for a moment, not knowing if he was being funny or not. Good cell phone coverage, in the midst of the Alaskan mountains? But the truth was, there was good coverage here, at the peak of the mountain. "Yeah." Not that the phone had rung. I'd had nothing. Nothing.

I had no idea if Alice was alive or dead.

Emmett and I sat for a while in silence. Emmett even joined in my landslide game. Finally, he spoke again.

"Carlisle told me about your plans if…" His voice trailed off.

_If Alice dies,_ my thoughts continued his comment, "Yeah."

"Do you really think it will work? I mean, Aro can see every thought you've ever had."

"So?"

"So?" Emmett was getting angry, "He'll be able to see the thoughts that you've had about betraying and murdering them."

I smiled a grim smile. "Oh, yes, he'll see them. And he'll wonder if they're true. But Emmett," I threw a larger rock down the slope, and it started a small avalanche of other, smaller rocks, "You're forgetting my abilities. He may see that I've thought that, but I'll hit him with so much calmness and trust, that it won't matter to him. Well," I amended, "It won't matter to him until it's too late."

I smiled at Emmett, flashing my bright, white teeth.

Emmett scowled at me. "And if that brilliant plan doesn't work?"

"Then I die."

Emmett was very angry now—physically angry, "I am getting sick and tired of my brothers tossing their lives away…" His fists were opening and closing; he was very close to attacking me.

I hit him with a wave of calm and trust, just like I'd told him I would use on the Volturi. It worked, instantly. He calmed down and he trusted me—and my plan.

After a fraction of a second, though, his eyes darkened again, "Knock it off, Jasper."

I laughed mirthlessly at him. "Just for a second, Emmett, imagine. If you lost Rosalie, what would you do?"

There was such a long pause that I started to assume that he wasn't going to answer me. Finally, after several minutes, he said softly, "I'd want to die."

I didn't say anything, but just gave him a knowing look. As far as I was concerned, our conversation was over.

Hours later, Emmett broke the silence again. "I know what you're thinking."

"What am I thinking?" I ask him, sarcastically. I had been reviewing fallacies and reasoning from my philosophy classes at Cornell in my head. Needless to say, my whole life was littered with fallacies. If A equals B and B equals C, then A must also equal C…well, needless to say, all lines of reasoning were shot when you implemented vampires.

"It's not your fault."

Somehow, Emmett had discerned the thought that was in the outer most recesses of my mind, the thought that I was ignoring, even as it clouded all else that I was doing and had done for the past several months. I was surprised; Emmett wasn't usually this perceptive.

I spoke with difficultly, "I don't know what you mean."

"Edward made his own decisions. His choosing to leave Bella, choosing to go to South America, going to Italy…Those are his decisions, and not your fault because you took a snap at Bella. Edward could have chosen differently, but he didn't."

He was right. I felt immensely guilty for what I had done. "I did more than take a snap at Bella, Emmett. I was ready to kill her. Given what happened, Edward's decisions are very reasonable."

"Honestly, Jasper—not to hurt your feelings or anything—you didn't stand a chance of getting at her—not with Edward there. It was just a knee jerk reaction. If it hadn't been you, it would have been one of the rest of us."

I appreciated Emmett's encouragement, in its roundabout way. It did make me feel a little better. And I could sense Emmett's sincerity. His words rang with it.

After a moment, Emmett spoke again. "What do you think of Bella, Jasper?"

I laughed dryly, "I try not to." I tried not to think of her humanity, her pale skin that revealed the flush when she was embarrassed, her smell…

Emmett laughed as well. "I know what you mean. But…would you mind her as a sister?"

I looked at him in surprise. "A sister? If they could make it through this mess—sure, I wouldn't mind her as a sister." I threw a handful of rocks out as far as I could, "Good luck convincing Edward of that, though."

"Edward's not the only one that can do it." Emmett replied seriously.

I looked at him. "You're serious."

"Think about it, Jasper," Emmett said, "It makes sense. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Edward would be upset."

"So, if the deed's all ready done, why could he complain?"

"Well," I said, coming around to Emmett's reasoning, "It's what Bella wants, anyway."

"It's what Edward wants, too," Emmett said, chuckling, "He just doesn't know it yet."

"Are you volunteering for the job?" I asked him.

Emmett stopped laughing, and his face blanched, "No, that's not what I…Carlisle…"

I laughed at his sudden discomfort. "You'd have to convince Carlisle."

"After all of this?" Emmett heaved a rock down the slope, "I don't think it will take much."

I pondered Emmett's proposition for a moment. He was right: it was the _only_ thing that made sense. It was the only way to salvage Edward's life—and Bella's too, from the sounds of it. Edward would be upset—all that nonsense about Bella's soul and such—but it would save him, her, and our family. It made perfect sense. "I'm sold." I stood up, "I'll even help you convince Carlisle if you need it."

Emmett's eyes lit up at the prospect of my help manipulating the situation, "Really? Sweet."

I laughed at him—as if I wouldn't help. "It's getting late. Race you back?"

Emmett's eyes lighted up at the prospect of a race. He stood enthusiastically. As I made ready to go, however, he threw his arm out to block me.

"Remember," he said with force as he looked into my eyes, "It's not your fault." And with that, he bounded off.


	6. Happy to be Wrong

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I have really good excuses, but I'm pretty sure nobody wants to hear them. Thanks for those of you who wanted to read the story when it was updated and those who reviewed. Getting reviews makes my day. On with the show:

The phone call from Alice received many reactions.

We'd gathered together in that front room—that front room where I'd first learned about Edward. Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme…They were all there. The Denali clan was there as well, sharing in our agony. I laughed to myself as I caught Tanya's feelings; she'd always fancied herself in love with Edward.

Everyone else was pretending to watch television. I was pretending to not go mad.

Next to me on the couch, Emmett clicked a ball point pen open and closed. Open and closed. Slowly. Even slower. Carlisle was sprawled in a reclining chair, staring at the ceiling. Esme…well, she was staring at the television, but she was in despair. She had no hope.

So many people, in such a small space, with such heightened feelings…The emotions that everyone was putting off was sending my emotions through the roof. As a result, I as putting out more emotions: more anxiety, nervousness. This elevated everyone's emotions even more. It was a vicious circle.

I was only staying because I wanted to _pretend_ to calm them down. I'd done such a poor job at calming Carlisle and Esme when I'd told them the news, I wanted to make up for it. It was my penance, my atonement. And it wasn't working.

Emmett clicked his pen again, and I visualized throwing him through the wall. His nervous habit was driving me crazy.

But then my phone rang.

The phone was sitting on the coffee table in front of me, in plain view. As it rang, everyone's attention snapped to focus on it. We all stared and the room became strangely airless.

It was a painful ring. Normally, I would have answered instantly, but I couldn't move. Destiny was calling.

It could be Alice.

It could be the Volturi, calling to gloat, calling to see how many vampires Alice was in contact with, how many more there were to kill. The possibilities were endless.

Pulling myself together, I answered before the second ring.

Not wanting to give anything away, in case it was the Volturi, I answered briefly. "Yes?"

"Jasp-

"ALICE!" I yelled.

A shout filled the room. The relief was immediate and overwhelming. Emmett and Rosalie embraced, Esme smiled. Carlisle slumped forward, placing his head in his hands, much as he done when I had first told him about Edward and Bella.

Alice was speaking quickly, giving me the recap of their trip to Volterra. Edward safe, Bella safe, on their way home—she was condensing, obviously calling from a plane full of humans. It didn't matter. We all had eternity to hear the play-by-play, and to hear her observations.

It was magic to hear her voice again. Until she spoke on the phone, I hadn't realized how much I truly believed her to be doomed.

I was happy to be wrong.


End file.
